The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel written by American author, Suzanne Collins. It is a prequel to the original The Hunger Games trilogy. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic. An audiobook of the novel read by American actor, Santino Fontana, was released simultaneously with the printed edition. The book received a virtual launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A film adaptation by Lionsgate is set to be released on November 17, 2023.
Plot
Following a long and costly war with the Districts, in which a grand city called the Capitol was under direct siege for several months, the Capitol is heavily damaged and only beginning to recover after victory. The once-wealthy and powerful Snow family has fallen on hard times, mainly due to their munitions factory in District 13 being destroyed in the war. The Snows' patriarch, General Crassus Snow, led the Capitol's forces as a key strategist and war hero until he was killed in action. While determined to keep up appearances, Crassus's son and heir, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow, his cousin Tigris, and their paternal grandmother (nicknamed "Grandma’am") are running out of options and resources. Faced with the imminent loss of both their grand apartment and the family's great social prestige, Coriolanus remains determined to restore his family to prosperity, taking pride and assurance in the family saying, "Snow Lands On Top."
Based on his academic excellence at the Academy, the Capitol's most prestigious secondary school, Coriolanus is chosen to mentor a tribute in the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Hunger Games. This will mark the first time that the Games would have mentors assigned to the tributes, and the first time there will be interviews and a host, Lucky Flickerman. Coriolanus, to his initial dismay, is assigned the District 12 female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. She is a member of a nomadic musician group known as the Covey, who traveled during the war but were forced into settling in District 12. Lucy Gray sparks the Capitol's attention after defiantly singing during the reaping, as well as slipping a hidden snake into the clothing of the mayor's cruel daughter, Mayfair, who had arranged for her to be reaped over jealousy about a boy named Billy Taupe. Coriolanus is determined to make a good impression, since his success in the games will most likely guarantee he will win the monetary prize he needs in order to save his apartment and attend University.
Coriolanus decides to meet Lucy Gray at the train station where the tributes are set to arrive, but accidentally ends up locked with them in their transport vehicle. Some of the tributes consider killing him, but are dissuaded by Lucy Gray when she warns them that their families would likely be punished. The transport vehicle drops a stunned Coriolanus and the tributes inside a cage in the Capitol Zoo. He and Lucy Gray seize the opportunity to put on a show and continue earning the sympathy of the Capitol's citizens.
Coriolanus starts gifting Lucy Gray food, since the Capitol is not feeding the tributes, often giving her his only meal for the day. The other mentors follow suit, including Sejanus Plinth, the only child of Strabo Plinth, whose ingenuity constructing a munitions empire in District 2 brought him considerable wealth and political favor, allowing him to buy his family's way into the Capitol after the war. Sejanus gets nowhere trying to use food to build a rapport with his tribute, Marcus, a former classmate of his from District 2. Another mentor, Arachne Crane, mocks and taunts her tribute, leading to her being attacked and killed when she gets too close to the cage bars. The tribute, Brandy, is then shot by the Peacekeepers, and her body is hanged and paraded during Arachne's funeral procession.
Clemensia Dovecote, Coriolanus's classmate, is distraught by the murder, leaving him to complete an essay on ways to increase viewership for the games – which they were supposed to do together – by himself. He presents the essay to the Head Gamemaker, Dr. Volumnia Gaul, proposing a betting scheme and sponsorship of the tributes to engage the people of the Capitol in the outcome of the Games. Dr. Gaul drops the essay into a tank of genetically modified snakes. Coriolanus is forced to retrieve a few pages of the essay from the enclosure and is ignored by the snakes. However, they attack Clemensia when she reaches in, since they did not recognize her scent in the paper, thus proving that Coriolanus was the sole author. Clemensia is severely envenomated and hospitalized, though Gaul brushes this off, only concerned with learning what she had wanted to. Clemensia survives, but with severe mental and physical side effects, and the true cause of her condition is hidden from her family and friends, who are simply told she was ill.
Coriolanus and Lucy Gray start getting close, after bonding over their respective struggles growing up. During a tour of the arena – implied to be a former football stadium – undetected rebel bombs explode and kill several tributes and mentors. Lucy Gray considers escaping in the chaos, but decides to help an injured Snow, saving his life. They share a kiss the last time the mentors get to see their tributes. Despite the bad publicity generated from the various Capitol deaths, the Games begin, with many tributes quickly dying from starvation, disease, or injuries, including Sejanus' tribute, Marcus, who tried to escape when the bombs went off and was punished by being beaten, chained in the arena and left to be killed by the other tributes. Meanwhile, Dr. Gaul enacts Coriolanus's proposals for the Games, successfully increasing Capitol viewership. Sejanus, resentful of both the Capitol and the Games, enters the Arena at night intending to die as a martyr; Dr. Gaul orders Coriolanus to extract him. He convinces Sejanus, explaining his death would be meaningless and he could do more to help if he lives. As they leave, they are attacked by a group of tributes who had noticed them. In the ensuing chase, Coriolanus is forced to bludgeon one of the tributes to death in self-defense. The footage of the Games is altered to hide their presence in the arena.
While in Dr. Gaul's lab, Coriolanus notices a tank of the same genetically modified snakes he and Clemensia encountered being transported. Realizing that they are going to be released during the Games, he drops in Lucy Gray's handkerchief, so that the snakes would know her scent. As Coriolanus predicted, the snakes are sent into the arena. They attack and kill several tributes, but not Lucy Gray, merely surrounding her and climbing inside her dress, but not biting. After several days, Lucy Gray wins the Games and becomes a Victor thanks to the snakes and a powder compact Coriolanus had given her earlier that belonged to his late mother, which she filled with rat poison. At a celebration party at the Academy, Coriolanus is smugly confronted by the Academy's dean, Casca Highbottom, with evidence implicating him in cheating in the Games and stealing food from the Academy. Dean Highbottom is credited as the intellectual author of the Games, but he is now heavily addicted to a pain killer drug called morphling, and has always hated Coriolanus. Threatened with his family being publicly disgraced, Coriolanus reluctantly joins the Peacekeepers and is sent to the garrison in District 12 for an estimated time of twenty years.
Coriolanus reunites with Lucy Gray in District 12, and they continue their romantic relationship. Sejanus, who was forced into the Peacekeepers due to trouble of his own, has grown further opposed to the Capitol's authoritarianism and soon plans to help a group of rebels escape to a place north of the district, rumored to be beyond the Capitol's control. Coriolanus surreptitiously sends word to Dr. Gaul using a jabberjay, a genetically modified bird capable of recording and replaying human voices. Lucy Gray's former lover, Billy Taupe, and Mayfair overhear a conversation between Sejanus and a rebel named Spruce, and are subsequently shot dead by Spruce and Coriolanus, who stumbled upon the meeting with Lucy Gray, to prevent them from blowing their cover. A few days later, Spruce is found severely injured and eventually dies, while Sejanus is arrested because of Coriolanus' recording and hanged for treason. Lucy Gray tells Coriolanus that she is going to escape to the North and he decides to leave with her, despite being offered a spot in officer training school in District 2, because he fears being found out for Billy and Mayfair's murders and executed like Sejanus.
On their way to the North, Coriolanus accidentally finds the hidden guns used to shoot Billy Taupe and Mayfair. Coriolanus realizes that with the evidence in hand, he could bury what had happened and make a new life for himself. Worried that Lucy Gray had discerned that he was responsible for Sejanus's death after he made an incriminating comment, Coriolanus goes after her with the rifle. He is bitten by a snake and, after expending his ammunition and hyperventilating due to the bite, is unable to discern whether he killed her or she managed to get away. After dumping the incriminating weapons into a lake, Coriolanus returns to the base and is sent back to the Capitol, where Dr. Gaul explains that she had arranged for him to be sent to District 12 so he could obtain more experience and ultimately come to terms with her view of human nature as inherently violent, and the need for an authoritarian government to keep this nature in check. Coriolanus is given a spot at the University under her tutelage and is effectively adopted by Sejanus's parents as their heir, with neither knowing the role he played in their son's death.
Coriolanus pays a visit to Dean Highbottom at the Academy. There he learns that, while Highbottom did indeed come up with the Hunger Games, he never intended for them to become a reality. While he and Coriolanus's father, Crassus, were classmates and friends at the University, they got drunk one night and Highbottom told Crassus of his idea for the Games, but as a simple, theoretical experiment. Seeking to gain favor, Crassus took the idea and submitted it to Dr. Gaul, who decided to make the Games a reality after the war. Since then, Highbottom never forgave Crassus for this and adds that he sees much of Crassus' deceitful, manipulative nature in his son. Thoroughly tired of Highbottom's obstructive actions and antagonism towards him, Coriolanus slips rat poison into Highbottom's drug stash, marking the first of the trademark killings that would fuel his rise to power. In the meantime, Coriolanus implements many of his ideas into future Hunger Games as a Gamemaker. All footage from the 10th Hunger Games is permanently erased and, having either died or successfully escaped the country of Panem, Lucy Gray is never seen or heard from again.
Characters
Coriolanus Snow - He is the main protagonist of the novel. His family has faced financial difficulties following the war, and he makes great efforts to hide this and maintain his social status. His mother died during childbirth, as well as his baby sister, and his father died during the war, leaving him under the care of his grandmother. He is arrogant, cunning and strategic, taking whatever actions are necessary to improve his situation. Coriolanus becomes infatuated with Lucy Gray after becoming her mentor during the tenth Hunger Games. Coriolanus is faced with a decision between power, status, or love. He works as a Peacekeeper and Gamemaker working his way up to eventually becoming the president of Panem.
Lucy Gray Baird - The female tribute from District 12 for the tenth Hunger Games. Lucy Gray is a member of the Covey, a nomadic musical group forced to settle in District 12 after the war. She wears a beautiful rainbow dress to her reaping and draws the Capitol's attention with her charm, talent and by slipping a snake down the District 12 mayor's daughter's dress. She is a smart and calculating free spirit, and eventually develops a romantic connection with Snow. Her fate at the end of the book is unknown, though she is presumed to have died by the beginning of the original series.
Tigris Snow - Coriolanus' cousin. She is the breadwinner of the family, leaving school and working for a fashion designer in order to support herself and her family. It is also implied she is forced to sell her body in order to keep food on the table. It is unclear what the cause of death of her parents was. She is gentle and kind towards her cousin, sacrificing a lot for his well being. She eventually becomes a stylist in the Games and heavily modifies her appearance to resemble a tiger. It is unclear how her relationship with Coriolanus developed from this time to the end of the original trilogy, in which she helps the rebels and smiles upon learning Katniss' intention of killing her cousin.
Sejanus Plinth - Coriolanus's classmate and fellow mentor in the Games. Originally from District 2, Sejanus now lives in the Capitol because of his father's connections and business during the war. He is rebellious and idealistic, and strongly opposes the Capitol's treatment of the Districts and the existence of the Games. Sejanus ends up a Peacekeeper alongside Coriolanus and considers him one of his closest friends.
Dr. Volumnia Gaul - Head Gamemaker and the person responsible for the implementation of the Hunger Games. She has a twisted view of human nature and believes in an authoritarian government and the need for punishment and control over the Districts. She is indirectly responsible for Snow’s descent into deceit and authority. Hated by many people of all districts, she is a cruel woman with little to no regard for human life.
Casca Highbottom - Dean of the Academy. He is credited as the intellectual author of the Games and holds great disdain towards Coriolanus and the whole Snow family. He is addicted to morphling, a drug similar to morphine.
Grandma’am - Coriolanus' and Tigris' paternal grandmother. Her granddaughter gave her the nickname "Grandma'am" since she believed she deserved something that sounded imperial. During the war, she took care of her grandchildren, and ensured their survival; though currently her advanced age seems to be catching up to her.
The Covey - A nomadic singing group. They were forced to settle in District 12 after the war, and all who resisted were killed. Most of the remaining members are related to one another and make money singing at events or at the local bar.
Mayfair Lipp - She is the daughter of District 12's mayor. Jealous of Lucy Gray and her relationship with Billy Taupe, she arranges for Lucy to be reaped.
Billy Taupe - Lucy Gray's ex-boyfriend and Mayfair's current boyfriend.
Strabo Plinth - Sejanus' father. He is the head of a munitions empire in District 2 that sided with the Capitol during the war, thus allowing him to buy his family's way into a new life in the Capitol. At the end of the novel, he sponsors Coriolanus and names him his heir.
Reception
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has received generally positive reviews. Even though book critics had an overall mixed reception to the novel upon its release day, the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, indicated that the novel received a cumulative "Positive" rating, based on 19 reviews.
The Guardian praised the book: "Collins's themes of friendship, betrayal, authority and oppression, as well as the extra layers of lore about mockingjays and Capitol's history, will please and thrill." Similarly, Time stated that Collins shines most "as she weaves in tantalising details that lend depth to the gruesome world she created in the original series." Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, saying the book is "both a tense, character-driven piece and a cautionary tale."
Meanwhile, The Telegraph criticized it as "not the most promising opening [fans expected]" and that Collins should "stick to plucky heroes and dazzling plot-twists. When it comes to writing the murkiest backwaters of the human psyche, Collins is fathoms out of her depth." Entertainment Weekly said of the storytelling: "The storytelling itself trends desperate at times. Chapters close on violent cliffhangers that edge into parody" and that "there are too many folk music interludes [and] some ludicrous franchise callbacks" but overall it "is a major work with major flaws, but it sure gives you a lot to chew on," ultimately giving it a grade of B−.
Film adaptation
In August 2017, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed interest in spin-offs of The Hunger Games, with intentions to create a writers' room to explore the concept.
In June 2019, Joe Drake, Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, announced that the company was working with Collins with regards to an adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. By April 2020, Collins and Lionsgate confirmed that plans were underway for the film's development. Casting had not yet begun, but director Francis Lawrence has been confirmed to return after his success with The Hunger Games trilogy. The film’s writer will be Michael Arndt, with Nina Jacobson and author Suzanne Collins as producers.
In August 2021, Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake revealed that the film was in pre-production with filming expected to begin in early 2022 for a targeted release of "either late fiscal 2023 or early 2024." On April 28, 2022, it was announced that the film will release on November 17, 2023.
On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Tom Blyth had been cast as the young Coriolanus Snow. On May 31, Rachel Zegler was cast as Lucy Gray Baird. On June 15, Josh Andrés Rivera was cast as Sejanus Plinth. On June 22, Hunter Schafer was cast as Tigris. On June 27, Jason Schwartzman was cast as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman. In July, Peter Dinklage was reported to have been cast as Dean Highbottom.
On June 6, 2022, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group released a teaser trailer for the film, followed by a full trailer on April 27, 2023.
References
2020 American novels
Action novels
American adventure novels
American post-apocalyptic novels
American science fiction novels
Books by Suzanne Collins
Novels about politicians
Prequel novels
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Scholastic Corporation books